April 25, 2007 Edition

Lawrence Hall,
LMH recognized

Board member Lila Floyd personally commended the staff of Lawrence Hall Nursing Center and Lawrence Memorial Hospital on awards and recognitions ~ national and state ~announced at Monday night's board meeting.

"We are so fortunate to have this facility in our community," she said. She also thanked the administrative arm of Lawrence Health Services and doctors for the quality received in the local healthcare market.

LMH is being honored by VHA, Inc., a healthcare provider alliance of more than 2,400 not-for-profit health care organizations. The hospital is one of 34 hospitals of 1,400 across the nation to receive special recognition in their care of pneumonia patients.

The hospital will also be receiving two awards from the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care. The Innovator Award was received because the facility freely shares information with other hospitals on its best medical practices. The Validation Award will be presented to two hospitals in the state, LHS being one of them, for having the highest accuracy rate in medical standards reporting. Administrators will be honored at a special event for healthcare providers across the state on May 31 in Little Rock.

Sarah Wright, nursing home administrator, announced that notice had been received of an award though the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care Quality. The award will be formally presented in May.

Wright showed pictures of resident rooms in LHNC comparing the results of refurbishing in three resident rooms. She reported that the floors were stripped and waxed, tile resealed, baseboards replaced and that the rooms were painted. In addition, matching privacy curtains and bedspreads and coordinating furniture was in place. She said that residents who were not part of this phase of renovation are anxious for more rooms to be added to the project.

The board approved new, revised mission and vision statements. The mission statement will be "To provide personalized health services in a safe and caring environment." The vision of the system, which will be committed to each employee, will be "Committing the resources to meet the needs and expectations of our patients, our staff and the communities we serve." A slogan was also introduced, "People you know caring for the people you love."

In other business:

Dr. Ted Lancaster, medical director for LHNC, provided reports for the home with no issues noted.

Wright reported on researching finishes that can be applied to the existing tiles in the facility.

Nursing home employee turnover rates in the facility were compared to national benchmarks. LHNC turns over significantly fewer positions than those in the national market. The greatest turnover is in employees of one year or less.

Gary Little, chair of the finance committee, provided reports for March activity.

The board approved replacement of the roof on the 300 hall of LHNC.

The new rates for the daycare were shared with the board. They will be effective July 1.

Dr. Clay Spencer, chief of staff, provided review and recommendations from the credentials committee on medical staff. He also provided the quality assurance, blood usage, performance improvement and safety report.

Inpatient use of the hospital continues to be above average.

Board members learned that a luncheon was recently provided to honor volunteers and auxiliary members.

A health fair and jewelry sale will be held on May 25.

The board meeting for May will be moved to Tuesday, May 29, to avoid being conducted on Memorial Day.

The quarterly safety report was reviewed.

A new washer was approved for the laundry.

The board reviewed policies and procedures on security measures. They also reviewed plans for emergency operations and patient safety. Leah Osbahr, president of LHS, overviewed a system now in place to verify licenses or certificates of personnel in crisis situations.